Little Town, it's a Quiet Village
by CaptainBunnyKiller
Summary: Belle and her father moves into a village to avoid as much of the Ogre war as possible, believing that all her dreams of ever seeing the world just had been shattered. But there she meets Rumpelstiltskin, the powerful dark one and his son. She soon learns that it is more than just a quiet little village that she entered.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One – Everyday like the one before**

Belle walked down the village square with her head in her book, trying to avoid all the other people and their stares she should have learnt to ignore after all this time, but alas it was not worth to try. Every day she walked through town she could hear them talking, gossiping, warning everyone not to step another step closer to her, that was the worst part, hearing parents telling their children to stay away from her or she would serve them to _him_ for supper.  
Her employer, the man with the most power in their kingdom, even the king would have to kiss his boots if he asked for it, Rumpelstiltskin, also known as the Dark One. But for Belle, he was simply her master.

Her father, an old inventor and her had moved to this quiet village, in hope of getting as far away from the ogre war as possible. The first months everything seemed to go splendidly, sure it was very different from the lifestyle she was raised in, but it was still better than living right in the middle of the war, as they had done before.

She could remember the first day she had walked to the market taking place in the middle of the village, it was too early for the life of the village to be awake, so she only saw one or two people up at the hour. She sat down at the local fountain, reading one of the story books she had managed to take with her from her old home, enjoying the blissful silence surrounding the town.

"What are you doing?" a light voice suddenly said. Belle looked up from her book and saw a young boy standing in front of her, with curious eyes staring at her book.

"Reading…why do you ask?" the boy looked up to her with big eyes.

"You can read?" she couldn't help but to smile at the boy, it was like he had never seen a book before.

"Why, yes, I'm in fact reading my favorite book right now." The boy sat down next to her and looked into the book curiously, she handed him the book. "Have you've ever read it?".

"Oh no, I haven't. I can't read" he said, not looking away from the book. "My father doesn't have the…well, time to teach me, and I haven't seen my mother in years". Belle felt sorry for the boy, and couldn't help but to feel sympathy for him, she put a hand on his.

"Me neither, mine passed away shortly after I was born" she said sadly "I'm terribly sorry to hear that though, dear"

"It's ok" he said, clearly not hiding the fact that it probably wasn't ok and that he missed his mother. "So the book, what is it about?" he asked, trying to avoid continuing the topic.

She smiled brightly, excited to get to talk to someone except her papa about one of the stories she was reading. "Well, it's a story about these two persons both being passengers on this ship, the Black Rock, that was suppose to sail to a new land, but for some mysterious reason the ship ends up on an even more mysterious island. The girl, she's pregnant with her ex lover's child, but he left her because he was-".

"a coward" the boy finished, sounding like he had experience in the matter.

"I was going to say afraid of the responsibility that comes with becoming a father, but I suppose coward is another way to put it" she said lightly. "Anyway, this boy from the ship falls in love with her, he's is quite the drinker, and used to steal from the wealthier to be able to afford his drinks, it was his only enjoyment in life since his only family, his brother had left him all alone to take care of is newly born daughter. But once he met the girl he stopped his addiction, he changed for the better because of her, and he was there for her when she needed someone the most. She started developing feelings for him too after some time. And he took on the father role for the child once it was born, all during a great time of tragedy, danger always luring behind the trees". She said and sighed, hugging the book closer to her. "And during all that time, he protected them, like they were the only thing that ever mattered, and she gave him his own family like he always wanted".

"And they lived happily ever after?" he asked excitedly.

"Well, I wouldn't want to spoil a terrific story, you would have to read it yourself to find out…" an idea suddenly popped up in her mind. "If you want I could teach you". She said, smiling broadly at the thought, no one should ever have to be denied brilliant books because they never got the chance to actually read them. The boy looked at her with a grin and was just about to say something when a new voice interrupted them.

"That won't be necessary" a man said. Belle looked at him and noticed that his skin wasn't of human color, it was gold. She noticed his teeth were even more golden than his skin, looking like they had been rotting for centuries.

"Papa…I was just, I wanted to know what-"the man held up his hand and stopped the boy from speaking.

"You don't have to explain a thing, Bae. Madame, what is your name?" the man, who apparently was the father to the boy named Bae.

"Belle, sir. Me and my father just mov-"

"I didn't ask for your life story, dearie, I was simply just asking for your name. Now, what is it that makes you think my son is so dumb?" he asked slowly, clearly angry.

"I didn't say that! I was just offering him to teach him how to read, I don't see how that would be the same as to calling him dumb!" she spit out back at him, why was this man thinking that she was making fun of the boy?.

"No, you didn't say that, but you were certainty thinking that. And I've never denied him the right to read any good books, as you think I apparently do. But then again, my idea of ´good books´ wouldn't be silly stories about foolish people claiming to be in love. Simple fact is that my boy has more important things to do than engage in sleezy books for girls who don't have anything better to do than day dream about dull adventures that never will happen to them". Belle could feel her grip on the book tightening during his little speech, furious as she was for him to just assume what she was like. She was just about to snap back at him when she felt one of Bae's hands on her's, she looked at him and he lightly shook his head while mouthing her a "don't". So she simply sighed to calm down, and looked back at the boy's father.

"Well I do apologize for offering my knowledge to your son, sir" she said plainly. "It was very rude of me to try to be helpful" she continued sarcastically.

"Your knowledge is not wanted, dearie, nor needed. Now I suggest you go back to reading that awful book of your's and leave my son alone from your storytelling". He said, and took his arm around the boy. "I bid you Farwell". He walked away with his son.

Belle sat back there, quite speechless for a minute. What was that? Who was that? She put her book down in her basket and stood up, not as interested in reading the book again. She noticed there were more people awake now, as she passed a lot of merchants trying to sell as much as possible. She was there to buy food so she could cook her papa dinner while he tried to find work in the village. Surprisingly someone with his knowledge was not as needed in the simpler villages out in the country. They had had no luck in finding work, neither of them this past week, and money were turning slimmer and slimmer for each day. But for now, they had enough money to at least buy decent enough food for their meals.

She stood in line at the meat part of the market, thinking about what to make her dear papa for dinner.

"Damn you Marie, these are the finest animals on our side of the forest, they're caught by me for God's sake! And you're practically stealing them away from me, I demand you double the price" an clearly angry, dark voice of a man screamed at the butcher's wife.

"Gaston, we can't afford to give you that much for what you caught. You know we've had to lower our budget because of the ogres-" the butcher's wife told him calmly.

"I don't care, I'm the best hunter here, I always bring the best, the things you sell the most, I'm your damn income and you're refusing me my earned money?" the man said, getting angrier and angrier by the seconds.

"Just give him his part of the bargain Marie, he'll tear this place upside down and then some if we don't give it to him" the butcher quietly said to his wife. The woman just sighed and gave the hunter more money and went inside while muttering something about wishing he would start wearing the pants in their relationship.

The former angry man, now smiling victoriously walked away from the butchers, he stopped once before walking closer to her. "Why hello, madame" he grinned, standing closer than any regular man would, he clearly had no sense of personal space.

"Hello, sir". She said trying to avoid the way the man were looking at her, especially the way his eyes kept looking down at her cleavage.

"Gaston, Sir Gaston, the best hunter on our side of the forest" he said like it was stating facts.

"So I've heard" she said while looking down at her feet.

"Well, can't say I'm surprised that you've already heard about me, I do have quite the reputation" he said smugly.

"Oh, is that so?" she said nervously, not really caring for his answer.

"Mmhmm, so what is your name? I don't believe we've been introduced, I would remember if we had" he said and took her hand.

"Belle" she said while trying to remove her hand out of his very tight grasp.

"Ah, beauty. You sure lived up to that name. Well, I must go, but it was great to see you Belle" he kissed her hand. "Until next time" he said and walked away from Belle who wiped her hand on her apron. What was with these strange men in this village?


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two – ****An object of revulsion and derision**

Rumpelstiltskin lead Bae away from the woman he had never seen before. He had always made sure to know which people were staying in the village, even before he had taken the dagger and gotten his dark powers. Nothing was as important as his son, he needed him to be safe, hence he tried to know a bit of each person there, after all, what if one of them were there to lure in boys to _Pleasure Island _like he had heard rumors about? He wouldn't let that happen to his Bae, he was too curious for his own good sometimes, too trusting. And now he was planning on going to with some strange woman to learn how to "read". He thought he had told the myth of _the nixie_ enough times to scare him away from water and dangerous situations, apparently he couldn't told him the story enough.

"I thought you were making deals, papa" Bae said as they walked away from the village to their home that was far away from the rest of the town's people. Rumpelstiltskin wanted to live as far away from them as possible, so he had searched out for an better estate outside of the village, he had made a deal with the people residing in there. He got their home while they were given protection from the trolls who apparently seeked for them for revenge.  
Maybe when Bae was older he would move to some castle far away from civilization, where you'd simply had to make a journey through the coldest of snow covered mountains. Yes, that sounded perfect.

"Aye, so I did, but business was slow, and I felt that something was wrong, clearly I was right".

"Wrong? She didn't do anything wrong, papa! Did you have to be so mean to her, she was only trying to be nice to me." he said, clearly upset.

"I heard what she thought of us, her thoughts weren't as pleasant as you'd like to think. She should consider herself lucky I didn't rip her apart right there for insulting us". Ok, she didn't technically insult Bae and calling him dumb, however he could read between the lines. She was not born close to here. While the children here were raised to learn what it took to do their parent's job so they could inherit their business later. While people like her were raised to learn languages that no one spoke any longer. Did she honestly think everyone here had the knowledge to teach their children how to read?

"Do you always have to listen to people's minds papa? It's their personal thoughts, you shouldn't listen to them".

"Bae, I have to protect you, people are false, they say one thing but think another. I can hear what they're really thinking, if they are planning on taking you away from me and using you. I'll keep you safe boy, I won't let anyone force you to war or harm you in any way any longer".

Bae sighed and moved away from him and walked forward, leaving him alone. What had he done wrong? He had only protected him from all the evil in the World out there to harm his son. He had taken care of his son all alone since he was born, his mother leaving him with Bae because she couldn't look upon the face of her son whose father _is_ the biggest coward of them all…no, _was_. He would not run away anymore. He wouldn't let anything, anyone stand in the way of their happiness. He would make Bae the happiest child in the World now with the powers he had. He had tried to give him everything, had given him more than any child could wish for, yet Bae wasn't happy. He could get anything he wanted, take him all around the World, and his papa wasn't the village joke anymore, no one dared to laugh near him in fear of getting killed in a slow and agonizing death. So why wasn't the lad happy? He couldn't understand it, he never seemed to be in the mood to play with his friends anymore, he always stayed away from the people of the village, he never seemed to smile anymore. But today he did, with that new woman…why was he smiling with her but not with his own papa?

"Bae, that woman you were talking to, who is she?" he asked, making Bae stop walking and turning back to him.

"Why do you want to know?" his son asked questing.

"Just planning to hunt her down and devour her soul" he said dryly, thinking it was obvious he wasn't serious. But the look on Bae's face told him otherwise. "That was a quip, Bae, not serious. I would just like to know who she is, she's new in the village, yes?". Bae sighed in relief.

"Her name is Belle, she and her father just moved here. Morraine told me that she saw them come here on a wagon to move into Jack's old cottage, you know the one who had the large plant behind the house? Morraine's mother spoke with Belle's papa, he said they had moved because the ogres were destroying their old village so they moved here to be safe" Bae said as they now continued to walk home.

"Oh.." Rumpel simply said, he knew what it was like to flee from the ogres. He had to admit that they were smart to move into this village. No one, not even the ogres came here since the new dark one made his first appearance. No one dared, in fear of standing in the way of his wrath, and the people already in the village had no recourses to move since the ogre war hit their kingdom. To move here was the smartest thing they could have done, unless you annoyed him, which the daughter already had. "Anything else I should know about?"

Bae looked at him, looking like he was holding more information and wondering if he should tell him or not. He could read his son's mind, yes, but he had promised Bae and himself not to, but it was mostly a promise to himself. If Bae ever had thoughts about how he wished he had another papa, or that he wish that he had died instead of his mum, than he didn't know how what he would do. It would break him, and that's why he never listened to his son's thoughts.

"No" Bae said uncertainly and looked away from him, apparently deciding to end the conversation.  
What was Bae hiding from him? He clearly knew more, but wasn't willing to share. This was odd, he didn't like it at all. But it could wait till later, he had to get Bae home and deals to plan.

* * *

Bae was thinking about the new girl he'd met in town, he had never met someone who neither knew their own mother. He knew his former friends, Hans and Gretel had lost their mother a year ago, she had gotten lost in the forest and was found a week later killed by wolves. He wished he could have gotten to know his mother before she left, he didn't know if she was dead, or if she was alive, happy and had a new family. He didn't know what of that was worse. His dad never said much about her, he had told him that she was dead, maybe it was false hope, but he thought he heard an uncertainty in his voice whenever he told him that. Maybe he was hiding the fact that she ran away from them, and maybe his mother was alive, out there in the world. If that was the case, he would search for her once he got older and father would let him out of his sight for longer than a few minutes. Or maybe his papa told him the truth, maybe she really was dead… He wondered how Belle was able to be so cheerful even though she didn't know her mother. Hans and Gretel would still start to cry whenever someone mentioned their mother, but Belle, Belle seemed like she had accepted it. He hoped he could get a chance to talk to her again without his father interrupting and threatening, like he always did. He missed his old papa, he was so different now. He had become so power hungry, revengeful, so dark, was there anything light in him anymore? He wondered if he would ever give up his new powers to go back to normal again, or did his powers mean more to him than his son? No, he told a dozen times that the only thing that mattered was him, his papa would never lie about something like that. He would ask him at lunch, he decided, he would ask him if there was a way to break the curse.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three – ****Life is so Unnerving****  
****for a Servant who's not Serving**

Belle was nervous, what exactly was she doing? This wasn't something she'd ever thought she would do, and yet here she was in front of the doors to the tavern, about to beg for a job. She took a deep breath and opened the doors and was already overwhelmed by the smell of alcohol. Did it really have to come down to this? She supposed so, to move from village to village had acquired more money than her papa had thought, and now they were counting down the days till they would have to sell what little they had left since they moved, well unless she or papa got a job soon. She walked as fast as she could to the bar counter, ignoring some of the drunk men who seemed to not be able to keep their hands to themselves. Behind the bar was a young woman, handing a drink to a man who was singing in a very high pitched voice.

"_Today I brew, tomorrow I bake, and then the child away I'll take. And Oh! I am glad that nobody knew, that the name I am called is_-" he was interrupted when the woman started to giggling out of control.

" He doesn't sound like that! You don't have the right soul in the performance, Peter" the girl said after she calmed down a bit.

"But he has no soul!" Peter said while raising his glass to drink.

"Exactly, you sounded like you actually cared about the child when you sang, hence your imitation of him is here by declared dreadful" She said and grinned while she cleaned the table with a rag.

"Oh come on, says who?" he said while moving closer to the girl as she cleaned the table.

"Says me" she said and giggled, now being only a few centimeters away from him. They were about to close the gap between them when an old lady walked down the stairs.

"Red!" she screamed making both of them turning around and moving away from each other. "Stop kissing the costumer and do your job!".

"Granny, I wasn't…I was just serving him!" the girl said flustered. The old woman ignored the girl and looked at the boy.

"Peter, I think you better go, I hear your dad needs help getting the new iron" the woman said simply, while the boy stood dead in his tracks.

"But he hasn't even finished his drink!" Red said "Are you honestly going to ignore a costumer his order?"

"I will when he has his tongue in my granddaughter's troth" the woman said while Peter grabbed his cloak.

"I'm not really thirsty anymore Red, besides father needs my help, so I should go" he took out a small coin and put it in Red's hand, whispering something quickly that made her smile. "Goodbye" he said and walked out of the tavern grinning.

"Red, there's a customer that has been standing by the bar for minutes waiting for you to stop flirting with that boy, maybe you should help her, hm? I need to go to the market, I better not find you with him here again when I get back, understood?" Red nodded and Granny walked out of the tavern.  
The girl sighed and moved back behind the bar.

"Sorry about that, what can I get you?" Red asked her. Belle who had been observing everything that just happened had completely forgotten the reason why she was here.

"Oh, I don't drink!" she said quickly.

"Then I'd say you've walked into the wrong place" she said and giggled. "Hey, I've never seen you before, you're not just heading through town, are you?"

"No, me and my papa we're staying here for a while till things get easier with the war" Belle said and sat down on a chair at the bar. "We had to move, we'd already lost so much and if we stayed there any moment longer…well, let's just say there's a high possibility I wouldn't be sitting here now" she said with a sad smile.

"You sure you don't need that drink?" Red offered, taking forth a glass. Belle giggled and shook her head.

"Thank you, but as I said, I don't drink. However, I really need a job, and I was wondering if there's a possibility that you might be hiring?" Belle said, hoping with all her might there was a position open for her.

"Oh…I'm sorry, we can't" Red said sadly. "I wish we did, really, but we're barley making enough money to take care of this place, we couldn't hire another girl".

"I'll work for half the money you would normally pay, I'll even work more than needed!" she said desperately. She couldn't lose this job that she hadn't even gotten yet, this was her last chance to keep her dignity. "Please, I need this job, if not then I'm forced to go and looking for a job at the red houses" she had heard rumors while she was looking for work, that down where the bad parts of the village was, there was a dozen of red small houses. Men would walk in there, give the owner money and then would get escorted to one of the houses. In the house a girl would wait for him and…she started to blush at the thought, no, she couldn't, she would rather rot in the gutter than sink that low. Red looked at her and sighed.

"Fine, I'll ask granny once she gets back, I can't promise anything, but I'll try. If you haven't heard already, she's stubborn as a mule". Belle grinned and ran behind the bar to hug her.

"Thank you…Red, was it?" she asked while hugging her.

"Yeah, everyone calls me that, Granny makes me wear this red cloak all the time, not even my clothes am I in charge of. I tell you, in another life I'll never wear that stupid cloak, heck, I'll wear everything she doesn't like just for the sake of it" Ruby joked.

"Thank you so much Red! I'm Belle by the way. And I'm sure your Granny would love that, so I take it making her mad is something you like?" Belle said as she walked back to her chair.

"Well she started it, she won't let me go outside when it's dark, she won't let me see my friends alone and she's treating me like a child".

"Maybe she just cares a lot about you? I mean, these are dangerous times, isn't it?" Belle asked.

"The only thing dangerous around here is getting lost in the woods or crossing paths with the wrong man" she said and put her arms on the table with her head in her hands. Belle was about to ask what exactly she meant when Red suddenly snapped up. "Ugh, he's already here" she said in complete annoyance.

"Who is?" Belle asked and turned around to see Gaston walking towards them.

"Why hello Red, did you hear about that wolf I killed last night?" he said as he stood next to Belle.

"Um, yeah, your friend told me all about it" she said and pointed to a shorter man oogling a pair of blonde women sitting at a table, giving Belle and Ruby death glares. "Can I get you anything? The usual?"

"As always. So, have you thought about my offer? Wouldn't you just love to come and see me out there in action? Hunting down one of those bastards?" he asked, taking one of her hands while she reached out to take a beer glass to him. She quickly shrugged his hand off.

"Sorry, need that if you want your drink. And no, I haven't. Granny is making me work a lot more right now, and she doesn't like it when I go out into the woods with strangers" she said as she filled his glass with beer.

"Oh come on, you'd be in perfect hands, no animal can hurt a pretty maiden near me" he said and tried to flex a bit. Belle tried to hold back her laugh, he was trying so hard to impress Red and she couldn't seem to avoid him enough, unfortunately she couldn't hold it back any longer and started to giggle, making both of them looking at her.

"Ah, there you are Belle. I've tried to find you for days now, haven't seen you since our charming encounter at the meat market, where you've been?" he asked, completely ignoring Red all of the sudden.

"Oh, just busy with trying to find work" Belle said, wondering if he really just had described that as charming. "Doesn't seem to be much jobs here unfortunately".

"Well you are a woman after all" he said nonchalant, as if that was a proper excuse to why she wouldn't find a job. "A woman shouldn't do that, she should get married, give birth to her husband's sons, taking care of the family, not work, that's man's job" he said and chuckled taking the beer Red now was finished with.

"That will be two copper coins, Gaston" Red said sharply.

"Two? Yesterday it was one!" Gaston said angrily.

"Oh, well we've actually had to raise the price for the beer, it's usually three coins, but just for you, two" she said giving him a fake smile, making Gaston suddenly grin.

"You know, you don't have to give me such subtle hints if you want me to court you, Red" he said handing over the coins and winked at her. She rolled her eyes as she put the coins away.

"It seems like your friend is getting a bit touchy with your ladies from the red houses, I'd go there and stop him if I were you" Gaston looked over to another side of the room and walked there angrily.

"You haven't really raised the price, have you?" Belle said with a smile as Gaston had left.

"No, not really, only for him" she said and smiled back. They heard Gaston raising his voice all of the sudden, clearly very angry with his friend. "You should go, this won't get pretty" Red said.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright with that brute angry?" Belle said standing up.

"I'm used to it, happened all the time here really. Besides, as I said, I'm not a child, I can take care of things" Red said and shrugged. Belle put her coat back on

"I can't thank you enough about getting me a job, it means a lot to me" she said smiling.

"Well _maybe_ getting you a job, and anything to keep another girl from going near the red houses" she said and smiled back. They said goodbye and Belle left to go back home, now in a better mood.

…**..**

When she came home, she was practically running into the house, ready to tell her father the good news.

"Papa, are you home?" She asked happily across the house, till heard a coughing from the other side of the small house and hurried there. "Papa, are you alright?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm sure I just caught a cold while being outside" he said and smiled. "Now, I thought I heard you were in an excellent mood, why might that be, Belle?"

"Well, nothing is confirmed yet but there is a good chance I might actually have gotten a job, papa!" she said excitedly, he walked forth and hugged her.

"I'm so happy for you, finding work here before your old man!" he grinned "Your mama would be so proud, dear". She smiled back to him, practically beaming at his words. She took the small pendent that was her mum's into her hand like she usually did whenever her papa told her about her mother. Knowing more about her mum always made her happy. Her father started to cough again and sat down on a chair.

"You sure you're alright, papa?" she asked putting the back of her hand on his forehead.

"Yes, I think I just need to rest for a bit, if you'll excuse me" he said and walked to his bed to sleep.

Belle sighed and picked up her book, why was she feeling like something was wrong?

* * *

A/N Hi, first thank you for all the kind words for this, this is my first time ever trying to write anything with somewhat of a plot, so to hear people are liking it makes me very happy. And for the person asking if I'll update everyday, I'll try, but I can't promise anything. Thanks for reading this and I appreciate it a lot that you take the time to comment on my story 3


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four –****I'm a cold, cold fish, I've a nasty, vicious streak**

Bae was walking around the little village, looking for Morriane. She had become his only friend, the only one brave enough to still talk to him after his papa became the dark one. All the other children ran off as fast as they could whenever he was close to them. What he wouldn't give to turn things back to normal. He found her sitting in the glen near her house, the usual spot where she'd spend her time since the war ended.

"Morraine!" he called as he crossed the glen, she beamed once she saw him and stood up.

"Baelfire!" she exclaimed as she walked over to him" What brings you here? I thought your papa didn't let you out of his sight?"

Ever since he had spoken to Belle, his father had pretty much kept him home, not letting him go outside. Luckily for Bae, today he had to leave hastily in the morning, he had gotten a desperate plea from former solider he told him happily, making that eerie giggle he recently had gotten, which made Bae spit out his porridge. How could papa be happy that someone was desperate enough to call out for the dark one? Bae was happy though, that would mean he now finally would get a bit of time alone from him, and could seek out Morraine to talk to her.

"He's out making a deal today. Oh Morraine, I need your help!" he said sadly, sitting down on a log near them.

"What is it, Bae?" she asked worriedly, joining him on the log.

"I need to find a way to break his curse, he said that if I find a way, he'll do it! And we can finally go back to normal!" he said with hope in his heart.

"Bae, that's great!" she said happily with a huge grin, not noticing how she suddenly placed her hand on his. "But…are you sure he would do it?"

"We made a deal, he promised! I need your help though, I don't know where to start looking for a cure" he said and sighed. Papa said the only way was by killing him with the dagger, but Bae just knew it had to be some other way, problem was finding out what that way was.

Morraine looked down for a moment, wondering how one would ever be able to cure one of the darkest curses of all. Suddenly her eyes looked up to his. "Reul Ghorm!"

"The blue star?" Bae asked, wondering how it could help.

"The other soldiers talked about it, Reul Ghorm is an ancient being that rules the night…the original power" she explained to Bae.

"Bigger than papa or worse than papa?" he asked, though he couldn't understand how anyone could have more power than the dark one, at least not dark powers.

"Bigger than anything." Bae smiled, there was something out there who could help him! They were finally going to become a real family again. Morraine smiled back, glad that she could help her best friend.

"How can I ever thank you?" he said looking back at her. She blushed and looked away.

"It's nothing" she said and stood up, brushing off her dress.

"I should probably head back before papa comes back home and thinks I've fell down a rabbit hole" he said jokingly and stood up.

"I suppose so" she tucked a strand of hair back behind her ear. "Good luck to you" she smiled as he nodded. Bae quickly kissed her cheek before walking away from her, heading home now with new hope.  
Morraine placed her hand on where he had kissed her and couldn't help but to giggle as she sat down on the log again, picking up a flower and looking at it with a huge grin as she started plucking away a petal. "He loves me, he loves me not…".

* * *

Rumpel had woken up in a rather lovely way this morning. A former solider had lost all his glory, had been shunned by his family and was in desperate need for a deal, this were going to be too easy, and the easier the fool was that came to him, the more enjoyment Rumpel would get in the end of the deal.  
He knew what the man needed even before visiting him, everyone seemed to be in desperate need of it, money. He needn't worry about it of course, he could spin straw into gold, money was the least of his problems.

He had spent the last week, spinning gold for a special green coat he was making for the lad which he knew would send out his plea any day for him, in the one of the pockets, there was an never ending straw of pure gold. The person which owned the coat would be rich and never have to worry about living in starvation, and that was what he was going to offer the young lad…for a price of course.

He would have to kill a certain bear that lived in the enchanted forest, it could not be touched by magic, and it's massive size scared even the most valiant of men run for their life, it was not any ordinary bear. The bear was in fact an enchanted prince who had seeked out an old witch once, many centuries ago to take over a kingdom with her help. She gave him the strength of ten men, making him into a monstrous beast that attacked whoever came near.

He wanted the skin of the beast to make a special coat that could prove valuable in the future, so he left to do business with the solider. Business who turned out to be very successful, he returned two hours later to their home, the bear skin in his hand triumphantly, the beast was now slayed and he had a skin with very powerful powers, this was day was as good as gold he thought to himself till he noticed Bae wasn't home.

Where could the boy be? What if he was hurt? Maybe he was deadly injured in a ditch and couldn't get up? Or maybe someone has taken him…that was it, that had to be it!  
The new girl, that Belle, she had taken his son, she had come up with this whole story about moving from the ogres just to come here to kidnap Bae, that was why he found them together! She was going to blackmail him into getting something, that evil soul! Oh he would have to pay a lovely visit to her and her precious papa.

** A/N:** _Feel free to leave a comment with critique of things I should improve or something you would like in the story, would love to hear what you guys think about the story, and your reviews makes my day._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five – You're all I've got, no matter What**

Belle sighed and put on the tea kettle on the stove, filling it with water. Papa hadn't left his bed for three days, this couldn't possibly be any ordinary cold. She would have to use some of the last coins for his medication…terrific, just what they needed, a cold just mysteriously hitting her father when they were already struggling. Well look on the bright side, it wasn't the plague.

Only a few weeks ago she wouldn't have to worry about affording a cure for some cold with terrible timing, but then the ogres came to destroy their town.  
She remember waking up that night by her papa, quickly telling her that the ogres were heading towards their town, that they'd be there by the hour and that they needed to pack the things they wanted before they ran for their lives.

Even though Belle never had been as materialistic as most of the other women in the village, who would spend half their family's life savings for a new dress that you could hardly breathe in, she still had trouble deciding how to pack her whole life into a bag. Should one bring the things you needed the most, the things that was the most valuable for trade, or the things with the most memories? And whichever you pick, do it quick before it's too late.

She opened up her bag and put in the most comfortable clothes she could find, a brush out of pure gold that her papa had given her for her 18th birthday, a journal which she planned to document all the things she saw, and her absolute favorite books, that choice had taken her the most time.

Books had been her only friends for as long as she could remember, and now she was forced to choose between which ones she would leave behind and which ones would get to come with her…maybe she didn't need that winter coat? Winter in the unknown couldn't be too cold, not as long as she had more books to curl up with, right?  
She promised herself that she would come back here once it all was over to read all of her books once again.

She couldn't forget the most valuable thing she owned though; luckily it was something small she could carry around with her all the time, her mother's old pedant necklace. She put the necklace on her, while looking around the room in her childhood home that still held her mother's presence.

Would she actually ever get the chance to come back here, or would it be as an old shack, a reminder that once a family lived there before having to abandon the life they had known for so long?  
Would any place ever truly feel like home ever again?

She felt tears' streaming down her face, oh this was silly. Here she was, breaking down in tears for her mother who died so very long ago, now when she should be running to stay alive herself.

She walked forward to the mirror in her room and looked into her reflection, papa had always said she looked just like her mum, so she had started talking to her mother and she would look into the mirror and envisioned her mother , an older much more mature version of herself in front of her. She had talked to her so many times, about the latest story she had read, about a new invention her papa had been working on, her dreams, it always felt so much better afterwards.

"Hello mother, papa and I, we…we are leaving for a while. We will be back soon, I promise! Papa's down at the stable, he's putting the wagon on Philippe, he unfortunately can't say goodbye to you…well it's not goodbye, it's not like this will be forever" her hands began to shake a bit, and she started to sob uncomfortably.  
"Papa loves you, I'm sure you know that, he still loves you. He doesn't like to admit it, but he still has your wedding dress on a chair next to your side of te bed, I wouldn't be surprised if he's bringing it along once we leave, he'll miss you a lot. Don't worry, I'll take care of him.".  
She smiled sadly, her grip on the pendent tightening. "It feels like we're going to leave you behind, I can't leave you behind. You'll still be with me, right? Wherever we're going, you'll still listen to when I talk about my nonsense, still look after me? Because I don't know what I'm going to do without you".  
She took a deep breath and continued. "I…I-I love you, I love you so much, I never got the chance to meet you, but I love you" she finished and dried off her tears with the back of her hand.

She heard a knock on her door and turned around to see her father stand there, looking worriedly at her.

"You alright, pumpkin?" he put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. She nodded with a smile, taking up her bag. "You all done packing then, Belle?"

"Yes, papa, and Philippe?" they started to walk out of the house she had lived in since she was born.

"Waiting for us" he closed the door behind them as she stopped and looked up at the house.

"Papa…do you honestly think we'll ever come back?" she asked, looking into his eyes.

"I can't say for sure, dear" he said sadly, trying to hide it with a smile. "But you know, now we most certainly will get the chance to get to experience an adventure, just like you've always wanted".

She chuckled quietly, he never seized to amaze her how he could always look at things half full instead of half empty. She took his hand and took a last glance on the house.

"Thank you papa" he hugged her hand back and climbed up the wagon. "Thank you mama for everything" she finished and joined him on the wagon, now leaving for the unknown.

* * *

The sound of the kettle's whistle awoke her from her memories. She took the kettle and made two cups of tea, one for her papa and one for herself. Hopefully this would make him feel a bit better.

As she reached for one of the cups she thought she felt a shadow on her, what was papa doing out of bed? She had told him not to leave it only a few minutes ago. As she turned around to scold him she dropped the cup.

"Where is _he_?" Rumpelstiltskin asked gritting his teeth while giving her the most frightening look she had ever seen.

* * *

**A/N: **For those who are wondering about the references (which I will be trying to add a lot more of), yup I tried to write _Charlie & Claire's_ story (From _LOST_) in chapter one as Belle's favorite story, I kind of had this silly thought that since the fairytale characters probably didn't grow up with well, fairytales they might read stuff from "our world".  
And let's see what else did I reference?  
In Chapter 2 I mentioned _the Nixie, _it's an old myth here in Sweden, which apparently the Grimm brothers also wrote about? Didn't know that (though what I grew up with wasn't a beautiful woman, it was a naked man playing a violin near the water luring in people).

In Chapter 4 I tried to reference this story called "_Bearskin_" by the Grimm brothers which I mixed with the story of _Brave_ (which I haven't seen nor read, bear with me, did you guys see what I did there? oh god I apologize for this A/N and it's stupid humor) And that's the ones I have done this far. Enjoy luvs


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six – ****From my Tortured Shape****, ****No Comfort, No Escape**

The girl looked down at the cup that now was on the floor, avoiding looking at his monstrous appearance, of course; well she should have thought about that before she decided to go up against him.

"I asked you a question, answer!" he snarled taking a step closer to her. She mumbled something intangible. "Speak up, Craven!"

"The cup…it's chipped" the girl said quietly, almost as if she was speaking to herself, taking the now chipped cup up in her small hands.

"It's just a cup." what was amiss with this girl? She had the feared dark one standing there in front of her, demanding she answered his questions or he'd take her poor excuse of a life, and she was more concerned with a cup! Why were women always such a mystery? No doubt the girl would cry anytime soon for the bloody cup. "Where is my son!?" The question finally seemed to sink in to the dimwitted girl as she looked up to his eyes.

"Your son?" she asked slowly while having the nerve to look confused.

"Oh I'm sorry, did I mumble?" he asked angrily, taking yet another step closer to her "Where is my son? The little boy you talked to only a week ago? Where you planning this-"he gestured at the house his son was captive in "-already then?"

"I-I don't know, I haven't seen him" she started to stumble on her words while flat out lying to him!

"I will ask you one last time, _dearie, _fail to answer me and you will regret it. .Bae?" he stood now only a mere space between them.

"I told you, I have no clue where he is! I've been home for days, taking care of…" that deceiver was going to continue to deny that she had his son?

"What is it that you want? Money? Immortality? A handsome prince to _Love_?" he interrupted, asking her sarcastically, it was always one of those, because what else could there possibly else to life?

"I want you to tell me why you're barging in my house, startling me, claiming that I know where your son is!" she spit out, standing up still holding the chipped cup tightly.

"You took my son, the only thing in this wrenched World that matters to me, you then lie to me, and then continue to play this tiresome game of denial. Do you even have any idea who you are dealing with, dearie" he raised his hand, ready to show her exactly what powers he possessed, then finally she would come to her senses and give up.

"Belle…?" a coughing voice interrupted him, making him miss his aim, which left a hole now in the kitchen wall.

"Papa, go back to bed, I'll be there in a minute" the girl said. Oh she was thinking she'd actually leave this battle alive? How foolishly naïve could one little girl be?

"What the devil?" an old man came into the kitchen, dressed in his nightshirt looking terribly sick. "Who are you? What business do you have here?" he asked confused, taking out a handkerchief while coughing into it.

"I'm the monster who you see in your darkest of nightmares and you and your wench of a daughter has stolen from me. And since she is daft enough to refused me to give it back, it seems like your nightmares are about to come true" he said darkly.

"Belle has stolen?" the man looked over at belle and frowned, seeming like he was trying to hold back a chuckle… what was wrong with this family? Did they not realize what he was going to do to them, did they think he was jesting with them? "Oh no no, that couldn't possibly it, I have raised her better than that. You must be mistaken sir, what is it exactly that you're missing?" the man finished.

"My son, my Baelfire" he didn't know how much more of this he could take, why weren't they on their knees, kissing his feet, asking for forgiveness for their foolish plan to blackmail the dark one? He was a monster, but he was a father, and no father should be denied their son, no matter how horrible their papa is.

"Isn't that him?" the girl suddenly asked, her face turned to the 'window', well newly made hole in the wall which pointed out to the road you'd cross to get there.

Rumpel pushed the girl away from the window so he could get to the window. And sure thing, there was Bae, walking away from the tree line in a hurried pace, smiling to himself.

He quickly ran out of the house, needing to see that he was fine. "Bae!"

"…Papa? What are you doing here?" his son stopped dead in his tracks, looking confused at him.

"Are you alright, son?" he pulled up his son's sleeve, looking for any sign of being mistreated.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Bae looked over to the house Rumpel just had ran out of, in the doorway Belle now stood, his son looked back at him even more confused now. "You were making a deal with Belle?"

"Did she or her father hurt you? Why did they take you?"

"What? Why would they hurt me? Papa I was just visiting Morraine, she lives further down the road" his son hadn't been kidnapped by them? But he was so sure… "Gods no! Don't tell me you hurt them, papa!" his son exclaimed angrily.

"Your papa didn't hurt us, our wall on the other hand…" the girl said, having walked over to them.

"He destroyed your wall?" Bae looked over at Belle, looking awfully embarrassed for his own father's actions.

"Oh, It was just an accident, I'm sure that wall would have broken any moment really. He just came to ask us if I had seen you since you were gone and couldn't find you" she told his son, why was she lying? Why not tell him about how he almost murdered her? "He was awfully worried about you, your papa must care for you a lot". Well that was no understatement; he only really cared about Bae's happiness.

"Bae, I think you should start heading back home, I need to finish my conversation with Miss Belle" he said, not looking away from her. He could see the moment fear entered her eyes.

"No, I think it's better if I walk home with you papa, it's safer" Safer for who, you or the girl? Rumpel wondered.

"It will be fine Baelfire, I'm sure your papa only will be a minute or two before he starts to head back home" Belle smiled to his son, who looked worriedly at her, but when she nodded he leaned up to his dad's ear.

"_Don't hurt them, they have done nothing wrong"_ he whispered before walking off towards their home.

"So, would you like to finish 'businesses' out here in the open or privately inside the house?" she asked calmly.

"I'm not going to kill you dearie, if that's what you think" he stated simply.

"Oh really? I was under the impression that the new hole in the wall wasn't exactly made because you felt the need for a window there" the girl joked drily.

"Why didn't you tell him that I threatened you, that I was going to kill you?" he looked at her, tried to figure out who this puzzle of a girl was.

"No one should have to hear that their father does that, family is all we've got in this time, would hate to see your son lose the only family he has left… And how embarrassing wouldn't it be to hear what an incredibly bad aim your own papa has?" she teased, and he felt like laughing for the first time in such a long time, not a fake eerie giggle to throw off people, but a real laugh.  
"Besides, you were acting for your son's safety" the girl continued " I'm sure I would have done the same if my son was in danger…though next time I would make sure I actually had proof about his whereabouts" she added.

"I'm sorry about your cup" he suddenly said, she had seemed awfully upset about it, though he couldn't imagine why. She frowned at him. "The one that chipped when you dropped it" he clarified.

"As you said, it's just a cup. And you can hardly see the chip anyway" she told him back. "Well, I should probably go and give papa his tea before it turns ice cold"

"Aye, and I better go home" she nodded, starting to walk towards the house. He grabbed her arm gently, making her stop before she disappeared "Um, thank you for not telling Bae about what I did" he said before he dropped her arm.

"Don't mention it…" she suddenly chuckled lightly "It's funny, I've met you twice now and I still don't know your name"

"Rumpelstiltskin" he said, wondering how she honestly couldn't know who he was, he was one of the most known men in this world.

"Rumpelstiltskin…" she repeated with a smile "I may have to get you to write that down for me"

"Will do, Belle. Farwell" he simply said before walking off to hide the true smile he had on his face, after all the dark one didn't smile to maidens, he ate human souls to his afternoon tea.

* * *

Belle walked into the cottage and found the new mess that the surprise visitor had left. Her papa was still in the kitchen and had helped himself to a cup of tea. He turned around as she entered with the part that had fell off from the chipped cup. "Your mother's tea set…it's broken" he simply stated with sadness in his voice.

"It's hardly broken, you can still drink from it" she said as she grabbed the broom and started cleaning the kitchen. She thought about how close in tears she had been when she saw how one of the few things they still had left from her mother had been destroyed. But when that man, Rumpelstiltskin had been so worried about losing his son, it hadn't seemed important after that.

And now…well, it really was just like he said, just a cup. Just because it had broken didn't mean her mother was less here. And when she thought about it, she liked the cup this way; It would stand out from the rest of the cups who was all perfect and just alike, but the chipped one wasn't perfect, it was flawed just like everything really is.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven - Is there no one, who can show me, how to win the World's forgiveness?**

How could he have left papa alone with Belle? How could he have trusted their words? He had to find out more about this Blue Star as quickly as possible before his father took more lives just for the sake of taking them.  
Suddenly he heard the front door to the cottage open and close slowly. He made his way from his room upstairs, quickly climbing down the ladder.

"Papa!" he jumped down from the last step of the ladder, landing behind Rumpelstiltskin. His father turned around, raising his hand to strike him with magic.

"Bae! What did I tell you? No starling me, unless you fancy becoming a frog prince" he lowering his hand while looking relived that it wasn't a burglar or another danger in their house.

"I'm sorry Papa. But Belle, is she alright?" he asked worriedly

"Of course, why shouldn't she be?" his father said as if he never would hurt a fly, let alone the woman he had reasons to believe was planning on hurting him.

"...You didn't hurt her then?" he smiled, maybe his father had realized that he couldn't keep hurting others to show off his powers. "And her papa, he's fine too?"

* * *

He couldn't give his son the answer that he wanted, her father was sick. Well that was obvious, but it wasn't just a stubborn cold, oh no, it was far worse than that. When the old man had walked in the room he had felt the sickness in the man, trying to overtake his whole conscious and body.

Since he had become the dark one he had been given the ability to see into everyone's souls around him, it would come in handy in making deals he supposed, he could sense a desperate soul in need of a miracle which only he could provide them. Whether it was a sickness, a curse, a plan of vengeance, a dream or a wish.

And the old man's soul would soon be devoured by his sickness, and slowly and painfully die because of it. He was far past saving with medication, the only thing that could save him was magic, but all magic comes with a price. But he couldn't tell anyone that, not the sick man, the daughter or his own son, everyone would have to figure out the problems to themselves first, so they later could come to him for the solution.

"I didn't harm a single hair on her father's head, though it's hard when he has such a severe case of baldness" he quipped making Bae snort up a laughter. He walked over to his spinning wheel and sat down on the stool near it  
"So, Morraine, any specific reason to why she owed the honor of your company?".

He turned around to glance at his son who looked down at the floor. either finding his own feet awfully interesting or finding this incredibly embarrassing to talk about.

"Um, we just talked" he avoided his father's glance, oh he knew that look on his son's face all too well.

"Is that so?" He grinned, he remembered when he was a young lad and too had a wee crush on a girl in the village. Of course he never had enough courage to spoke a single word to her, she probably didn't even know his name. Well now surely she must know it, everyone did ...except that Belle girl.

Was the village she'd lived in before located under a bloody rock? Why was he even thinking about her again? She didn't matter, she was just some ordinary peasant who was lucky enough to survive his wrath twice in a matter of a week, that's more than he could say for others who he thought was smarter than trying to cross him.

He started to spin the wheel, needing to be distracted to forget about that unimportant girl's face who still ingrained his mind.  
"What did you talk about with her, Bae?"

"I didn't mention anything about the dagger if you think I did" his son said awfully quickly, he walked over to the bear skin he had gotten earlier that day, still avoiding looking at him. "You killed a bear?"

"Not me, no" he simply stated, looking back at the wheel.

"Then why is there a bear's skin on the dining table?" his son asked confused.

"Winter is coming, thought it might get drafty" he joked, looking over at Bae who didn't seem amused at his quip and sat down next to him by the spinning wheel. He took a piece of the golden thread in his hands and playing with it.

After a while of sitting there in silence Bae spoke up. "Papa...what is Reul Ghorm?" he asked in a nervous tone, still playing with the thread.

"Why do you ask, Bae?" Why was he son asking about the Blue star?

"Nothing, just wondering. What can it do?"

Oh no, he wasn't...his son wasn't about to let his son wish upon a star. He knew about the Blue fairy, how she was suppose to 'good side' of things, when in reality she was just as conniving as him, he knew she lied at times even, something that was a big no no to the pathetic little fairies.

"The Blue star can't help your problems, don't be fooled by false hope that peasants wish for, the star and people is as useless as piece of wood." well with the wood you could at least use for the hearth, he thought grimly to himself as he stopped spinning and turned to his son.  
"It can't help my curse, Bae. And even if it did, we all know that all magic comes with-"

"-A price, I know" his son finished for him.

"The bigger use of magic, the bigger the price" he put his hand on Bae's shoulder, and he felt his shoulders sink lower in disappointment at his words.  
"We'll find a way, I'm sure" he tried to encourage him, he wish there was a simple way, but magic and curses never was.

"When?" Bae asked quietly, not believing his words.

"Only time will tell, son".

* * *

**A/N: **Hi! First I wanna apologize for not updating yesterday, I had written the chapter but my laptop has been having troubles working properly and internet isn't working on it (hence I'm using my mum's computer) and I had to re write this chapter today, and I'm gonna try to write finish the next chapter and post today too (since it's the Rumbelle anniversary).


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight - But I know that I can't  
Solve my problems going back**

****"Belle, you really should go outside, when was the last time you got a bit of fresh air?" her father asked her while laying in his bed. He had gotten worse and worse by the day now, she had refused to leave his side, after all how could she? And now he wanted her to go outside?

"Papa, I'm fine" she assured him, placing her hand on his.

"You're looking paler than me, if I didn't know better I'd say you're the sick one of us" he started to laugh but it ended being another attack of coughing. She quickly gave him a handkerchief to cough into. Only two days ago she had found his expensive handkerchiefs that he had bought from merchants in their old village, drenched in blood that now came up more often when he coughed.

"But I'm not, you are the sick one. So stop trying to focus on me getting better and start with yourself, papa" she said lightly, trying to keep up her facade that everything was going to be alright. Truth was that she had never been more scared in her life. Her papa was sick, the one person that had always been there for her was terribly sick, and she didn't know what to do.

All of the sudden she heard a knock, she wasn't expecting anyone...she kissed her father's forehead before leaving to open up the door.

"Red?" she asked confusingly as the girl stood there with a man she had never seen before. She hadn't seen her since she pleaded for work, was that why she was here? "I'm so sorry I haven't come back to talk to you about work, I've had to stay home, my father is..."

"I know, I know, Ella heard it from her stepsisters who heard it from the baker's wife who heard...this is beside the point, this is mister Wilhelm" she nodded to the man beside her. Belle looked confused at the man, not getting who this man was and why he was here.

"Just Jacob is fine" the man said with a smile that seemed obligatory. What was she not getting here?

"I don't understand-"

"He's the most famous physician in our realm" Red interrupted with a proud smile.

"Oh! Please come in" Belle quickly said, finally getting why this man was here. "I suppose you want to take a look at my father?" she asked as the man took off his coat and hat, wile Red not showed any movement of taking of her red cloak off.

"If you please show the way" Jacob said as she lead him to the room her father was in. Belle explained to her papa. As Jacob sat down on a chair next to the chair Belle leaned closer to Red who had followed into the room.

"How did you get him to come here? You did tell him that we barley can afford the food we're eating, let alone the most successful man of his kind?" she whispered, not wanting to interrupt Jacob.

"He knows, he's not expecting anything from you" Red whispered back.

"And from you?" Belle was thankful that this man had come for her father, but she didn't want the Red to have to pay him for their sake.

"Don't worry about it, he owes Granny a favor" Red assured. "Besides, it's the least we can do since we couldn't find work for you at the tavern, I'm sorry Belle" Red said sadly. Belle took her hand in her's and looked away from her papa to Red.

"It's more than I could ever ask for, thank you so much" they both smiled as they looked back to the men.

All this time, Jacob had just been looking at the bed, not taking a closer look at her father, only moving his gaze from the foot of the bed to the head of it, only to look back after a moment. Was this usually how physicians worked? Her papa seemed just as confused by this man's actions.

Suddenly the man's eyes shot up as he looked at the feet of the bed. He stood up and nodded for both of them to follow him to the other room.

"I...I'm sorry, there is nothing I can do" he mumbled as they stood outside of the bedroom. "He will die soon, treating him would be of no use" Jacob said before taking Belle's hand in his. "My condolence" he said before bowing and leaving. If she hadn't just gotten the most horrible news one could get, she would probably laugh at how this man seemed to have this whole conversation memorized. But this wasn't something to laugh about.

Belle felt her knees weakening, no this couldn't be happening! Her papa, the man she had known all her life, the man who had been taking care of her, the only person she had ever had was going to die. She curled up there on the cold floor, sobbing hysterically at the thought of her papa gone.

She didn't know how long she had been crying, it felt like hours till a pair of arms hugged her.

"I'm so sorry Belle" she could barley hear Red speak, she could just hear the coughing from her father's room. She looked up at her face and saw that Red was tearing up too.

They sat there for a moment, hugging each other both in tears. After a while Belle slowly stood up, feeling just how soaked her dress was from her tears. "I don't even know how to tell him...how do you tell someone you love that they are going to die?" she was having troubles breathing,  
It wasn't fair! First her mother, lost while giving birth to her, and now her father. He hadn't been able to show off his inventions to the World yet! He hadn't gotten to see his grandchildren.

"God, I wish there was something I could do to save him" she said after she could breath somewhat normally again.

Red looked at her for a moment before casting her eyes down, looking like she was debating whether or not to tell her something.

"There is a way to save him" Red said after a while.

"What?" She could hardly believe what Red just had said.

"There's a man who can achieve the most unholy of requests...a man who can do what you ask " Red said slowly in a very serious tone.

"Who?" she asked desperately.

"The Dark One" Red stated in a way that made Belle shiver.

She had heard him being mentioned once or twice before in shushed voices back in her old town. She had heard a few stories about him, how he was the devil in disguise, how he killed any man who dared to make fun of him, how he had ravished maidens before their wedding night for their end of the bargain in deals. She had mostly just laughed of the stories she had heard, thinking it was a tale worried parents told to keep their children from getting into trouble.

"Belle, you have to understand who you're asking help from, he isn't someone you just-" she was cut off by Belle.

"Tell me how to contact him".

* * *

Rumpel was looking out the window from his spinning wheel. The black night sky was awfully dark tonight while the stars were shining even brighter than normal, he wondered why that might be.

Bae had gone to sleep, he could hear his slow, steady breathing from his bed. Along with the sound the spinning wheel made, the sound of his son sleeping, safe from no harm was like music to his ears. It always made him feel better, and calmed him down.

"I wish to summon the Dark One...Please?" an uncertain voice suddenly said, interrupting the calmness which he had found.

Now where had he heard that voice before? It couldn't be the Queen, no, she had that sound of vengeance in her call, besides she wouldn't say please...Oh well, there was only one way to find out, he stood up and let the purple smoke cloud transport him to the person in need of his assistance.

When the smoke was all gone, he was standing in the room he had stood only days before, threatening Belle. He looked around to find her down on the floor, no doubt surprised by him suddenly appearing in the room. Well what was she suspecting? That he where to come down the chimney?

The girl looked up from the floor, he saw her bloodshoot eyes look at him in confusion. "You...?" the girl exclaimed surprised.

" Were you expecting visit from the queen? I suppose I should be on my merry little way back home then" the girl just continued looking at him in confusion.

"You're the Dark One?" She asked as she slowly stood up, not taking her eyes off him.  
Was the idea of him being the all mighty powerful dark one really that hard to grasp?

"Aye, me" he said with a grin while he looked around. The hole he had made in the wall was still there, but now partially covered with a poor excuse of a curtain in it's way. "Enjoying the forest view?" he gestured to the window and giggled his infamous giggle.

* * *

She couldn't understand this, Rumpelstiltskin, the father she had ran into two times now, the man who had thanked her for not telling his son about how he had threatened her...this was the feared Dark One? And now he was here in her house, acting like it's just a social visit. She shook her head, she needed to ask for his help before he grew tired of her staring and left.

"My papa is sick..." she started, finding the next words incredibly hard to say out loud "he's dying". He looked away from the room and back to her.

"And you want my help?" he simply asked, his grin even more wide now.

She nodded slowly. "I was told you could do the unspeakable"

"You were told correct, I can ease your pretty little mind from the pain from seeing your father die in sickness" she felt a smile of hope spreading over her face, and she felt like shedding tears of joy for the first time in a long time. "But it will cost you" Rumpel continued.

"I...I don't have much" The only thing left of value that she could offer was her mother's necklace, it was even fancy for her standards. She took it off and offered it to him. He looked at her after taking a glance at the necklace.

"Sorry, not the jewelry type" he said and giggled. "If this is all you've got to offer, I must be on my way" he started turning around, about to leave.

"No wait, please!" she grabbed his arm. "There must be some way I can...What is it that you want?"

He turned around with a playful look on his face. "You".

She stood there in silence, surely he couldn't want her to become some sort of wench for his needs. She started to blush, obviously he noticed and started to grin again. She took her hand off his arm and cast her eyes down, not wanting to see the way he was looking at her.

"I'm not looking for _that,_ dearie". he said while gesturing between them. "I simply need a caretaker for my estate" he stated as she looked up in relief. "someone to clean and cook for me and my son...Forever".

"If I go with you, my father, he will live?"

"You have my word"

"And you have mine" he looked at her like he couldn't quite believe what she just had agreed upon. "I will go with you...forever".

"Deal!"

* * *

**A/N: **If anyone is curious to who the odd physician/doctor is, he's from the tale "_Godfather Death_" by the Grimm Brothers (which is a bit of an odd story, but I like it, and I got the chance to use him in this chapter). Your reviews is making me very happy, so you should absolutely leave more / Jonna


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine - This really is a case of father knowing best,  
and daughter too!**

****Rumpelstiltskin had told her to not enter the bedroom as he cured the old man, not wanting to get disturbed. He walked over to where her father was half asleep, his skin looking whiter than Snow White's.

"Belle?" the old man coughed out in confusion.

He put his hand on his heart "Well I'll admit my manliness is insulted" he quipped.

"Who...are you?" the sick man tried to sit up to get a better look at him, but failed and lay back down.

"Luckily for you, not the Grim reaper. However, I have heard that a lot of people are more afraid of me than him" he said as he sat down on a stool.

"The-the Dark one?" the sick man asked with fright. Rumpel let out a giggle before he continued to do what he had been called for.

"Now, I will have to ask you to just lay down and not do anything else, but I doubt you'll have enough power to do anything but that" he moved both his clawed hands over to the man's chest and let his magic move it's way through Maurice's body, healing his sickness.

After a while the man got his color back and sat up.  
"The pain, it's gone!" the man took his hand in both of his and shaked it vividly. "Thank you, I don't know what you did, but thank you so much!" the man practically jumped out of the bed to stand up, happy to be out of the bed for once in such a long time.

"Just did my end of the deal" he said, rising from the stool he'd been seated at.

"Deal? I don't recall doing a deal with you...Did I?"the man wondered out loud while trying to figure everything out.

"Not you, but your lovely daughter did" he smirked. _And now let the fun begin,_ he thought grimly to himself as the man walked out of the room to his daughter.

"You're alive!" his new maid burst out as she stood up from the saw her father out of the bed for the first time in days.

"You made a deal to cure me with the man who almost killed you?" the father asked as he stormed into the kitchen.

"It was the only way!" the girl quickly answered as she walked over to her father. "I had to"

"What are we going to give him? We have nothing left, we lost everything to get here!"

"That's not entirely true, dearie" Rumpel finally said, sitting down on the dining table, making the father and daughter look over at him. He took the cup his new maid had left on the table and made tea with his hands in it, drinking from it slowly with a grin, stirring it around with his finger in the air.

"What...what does he want?" the man asked worriedly as he turned back his gaze to his daughther.

"Me" the girl said with defeat in her tone. "I am to become his caretaker, for the rest of my life".

"You sick bastard!" he stormed forward to him, continuing to shout. "I demand you make me sick again, the deal is off!" he said angrily as Rumpel took his time sipping down a bit of tea, not caring about how rage filled the man before him was.

"Father!" the girl put her hand on her father's cheek as they looked at each other sadly. "I can't just let you die, papa, not when there's a way to save you" she spoke softly to the man.

"You can't leave with this...beast!" the father said, clutching her hand as he would drag her away from him at any minute. Rumpel made a mock face of being insulted.

"No one decides my fate but me, papa. And I need to do this" she smiled sadly to him. "Besides, it's already been decided".

"You know..." he jumped off the table he had been sitting at "she's right. The deal is struck" he gestured with the hand.

* * *

She looked into her father's loving eyes, hating that this was the best option, but she would much rather be the maid of the dark one knowing her father got the chance to continue his life, maybe he finally could travel around the World and show off his genius inventions.

"When will I have to leave?" she asked looking away from her father, to her new employer.

"Right now" the man said joyfully.

"Please, let me say goodbye to her before she leaves!" her father said pleadingly as if it was his dying wish.

"I'll give you a minute" the man said before walking outside of the cottage to wait for her.

"Belle...why did you do this? I'm old, I've lived my life! But you...your life should just have started" her father said grievously as he slumped down in a chair.

"Papa, you're not that old" she kneeled before her father, putting her hands on his who was resting on his legs. "And mama wouldn't like you to join her just yet".

"She would neither like to know you are going to be in service to the Dark One for the rest of your life! Belle, what about your dreams?"

"What about _your_ dreams? What will the World possibly do without getting the chance to see your inventions?" she smiled while her father chuckled quietly.

"I'm sure it would survive". He caressed her cheek gently. "What am I going to do without you?"

"Oh don't be so dramatic, I will still live in this village..just not under the same roof as you".

They both went back to being silent, just looking at each other. They had never been without each other before, her father had never let her be too far away from her afraid he'd lose her just like her mother. And now they were going to not see each other everyday like they were so used to.

"Did I ever tell you that I love you?" her papa suddenly said.

"I love you more, papa" she told him back.

"I love you most" he leaned over and kissed her forehead, like he had always done since she was a little child.

Rumpelstiltskin walked back in, still drinking from the cup who he had noticed was chipped at the edge.  
"Well, I do hate to break up a sentimental family scene, but we better get going, dearie".

She stood up from the floor and walked over to Rumpel who handed her the cup she had chipped only a few days ago.

"You can begin your work once we get back by washing that" he said as they moved with a purple smoke of magic, from the little cottage she'd barley come to know, to a prison she'd remain in forever.

* * *

**A/N: **For the reviewer who thought it was one of the Grimm brothers, well I named him after both of them (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm) so that probably explains it. And I now look forward to writing more Rumbelle scenes. /Jonna


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten - Is this Home, is this where I should learn to be happy?**

Ah, finally away from that odd cottage and back home, Bae still soundly asleep, Rumpelstiltskin thought to himself as the purple smoke had cleared off around him and his new maid, who were coughing quietly, not used to the magic surrounding her.

"Well dearie, you better start washing that cup" he nodded to the chipped cup in her hands. "Since I unfortunately don't have a dungeon to keep you in, you'll have to find a corner on the floor to sleep in" he smiled amusingly. "Now, I expect breakfast to be served before the sun is set. Bae likes porridge and I like my tea with the village children roasted on the side" he quipped.

The girl just stood there and stared at him, had no one ever heard of a joke before?

"It's a quip dear, you can cook me whatever you think will impress me the most" the girl sighed out in relief.

"Right, breakfast at the crack of dawn" the girl noted to herself.

"I'll give you all the rest of your assignments tomorrow, but let's make one thing clear" the girl looked up at him. "You belong to me now, you are not to go anywhere without my permission. You are not to meet anyone without my permission. You are not to touch anything without my permission. Are we clear?" the girl nodded slowly. "Alright then" he walked away to his bedroom to some well deserved sleep after making deals that night.

"Good night, Rumpelstiltskin" his girl half shouted across the room, careful not to be too loud to wake his son up.

"Yeah...Sleep well and don't let the bed demons get you" he said quickly, rather taken aback by that before entering his room.

* * *

Bed demons? Well that was new... She took the cup which she would be her first chore to do before setting up her bed for the rest of her life, this would turn out to be quite the adventure of her life.

She grabbed a lantern and looked around the room, she saw a tub of water in a corner and picked up a rag, cleaning the cup as good and quietly as possible as one could do in the middle of the night in a unfamiliar house. When it looked clean enough she placed the cup with the other ones and began looking for the warmest corner she could find.

Of course, finding anywhere warm on the floor, around this time of the year, winter coming sooner than one could hope for, it was impossible. The whole floor was incredibly cold, and there were no blankets left for her comfort, well she couldn't exactly have expected that the Dark one wouldn't give his maid a warm, fluffy bed with silk covers. She couldn't go look for any blankets, he had specifically told her not to touch anything until he said she could.

So she curled up in a corner, making herself as small as possible while trying to get as much warmth as possible with the blue dress she had, which proved to be useless. Home sweet home, she thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Why was it so quiet? Why wasn't she crying her pretty little...her eyes out, yes, why wasn't she bawling her eyes out for having to work for the Dark one? The last maid had, and she had been mute yet she had made such a fuzz the first couple of nights after leaving her home.

He had been waiting for that wonderful sound of the first cry of true sorrow and regret for a few hours now, yet it never came. Maybe she had ran off from the deal...he should check to see if she was still there, no one breaks a deal with him after all.

He lit up the room with magic to take a look around, he looked around, searching for the girl. And there he saw her, curled up in a corner in a poor excuse of a bed, trembling slightly. Was the floor really that cold? If it was that cold, couldn't she have helped herself to a blanket? Or was she expecting him to tuck her in and tell her a bed story? He then remember what he had told her, the rules he had so nicely told her. Surely she should have understood that taking a simple blanket wasn't going to make him lose his temper, he might be a monster but at least he was a reasonable one.

He slowly moved his hand to her forehead, carefully feeling just how cold she was. Cold as ice his new maid seemed to be. He sighed, as he walked over to a wardrobe he had gotten from a deal with some old man named Digory Kirke. It was a magical wardrobe, which could take you to another world, but for now it was a rather great thing to put in things in. He took out the bear fur he had gotten earlier and placed it on Belle's sleeping body. After a while she stopped trembling and seemed to relax in her sleep.

He felt happy yet ashamed of his action, after all he didn't bring her here so he could take care of her, it was her job now, he would have to tell her that in the morning.

* * *

The sun slowly rose, shining in from the window in the unfamiliar room she had been sleeping in. She yawned and finally felt the bear fur around her. How had it gotten there? It couldn't possibly be her new employer...could it? She smiled at the thought.

She looked around the room, now in better light and saw just how amazing the kitchen was, it was fully stocked with food! Oh cooking with limited resources would obviously not be a trouble here. She placed a kettle with water on the stove while making porridge and making french toast.

After a while she heard someone climbing down the ladder she had seen this morning, she had assumed it lead up to Bae's room since the father had left for sleep in another. She heard the boy walk in while yawning.

"What is that smell? What are you cooking pap-" he suddenly stopped and looked at the form that so clearly wasn't his father. "Belle..?"

She turned around with a smile. "Good morning, Baelfire".

"Why are you standing in our kitchen, and cooking?" the boy asked confused, staring at her.

"Your father and I made a deal last night, he didn't tell you?"

"You made a deal with him? You shouldn't have done that!"

"I had no choice" she said as she put down plates on the table.

"Oh everyone has a choice dearie, just make sure it's the right one" Rumpel said as he appeared in the room, sitting down by the table. "So Bae, I take it you've met our new caretaker"

Bae sat down with his father still looking like he was trying to figure everything out. He thanked her as she filled his bowl with porridge. "What happened to Honora?" he asked with his mouth full of food.

Rumpel looked over at her strangely for a moment before looking back to his son "Let's just say she was too nosy for her own good" he said with an eerie grin before starting to eat as his son looked at him horrified.

Was that suppose to be some warning for her? She rather not find out. She gave him one of the cups she had found in a cabinet in the kitchen and was just about to pour in some hot water into it when Rumpel raised his hand to stop her.

"Oh no dearie, I want the cup you brought with you from home" she looked at him oddly

"Are you sure? I mean it's chipped..."

"You mustn't worry about me hurting myself, dearie, monsters don't bleed" he said giving her the whole cup while she left to get the chipped one.

* * *

"Papa, why did you make a deal with her?" his son asked while she left to fetch the cup.

"It is what I do for a living, I help people and I get something in return, simple as that" he said simply, continuing eating the fresh toast that tasted surprisingly good. Huh, who knew? The new maid actually could cook very well.

"Something? She's the price of the deal, what is so important that she needed your help that she would sell her soul to you?"

"Her father, he was sick, deadly sick, they needed my help" he didn't look at his son, why did he even care for the girl? He had only met her twice now, and was practically begging him to release her from her end of the bargain.

"Oh..." his son simply said, looking down into his bowl when the girl came back with the 'right' cup.

"You may start your new chores by doing the dishes and then wash our clothes, there's a stream a few meters away from our house" he pointed a direction while explaining what she would need to do. "After that you may start with lunch-"

"-I suppose you want a soup made out of tears from the most innocent of souls?" the girl quipped with a small smile as she picked up his son's now empty bowl from the table.

"Naturally" he replied grinning. "Then you shall start teaching Bae how to read".

"What?" both his son and the girl asked in unison, both as equally surprised.

"You don't want to learn how to read?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"No, I mean of course I want to" his son started to smile "You'll really let me learn?"

"Whatever makes you happy, Bae" he said as he raised the cup to drink. Bae jumped out of the chair and hugged him, almost making him drop the cup and destroying it even more.

"Thank you so much papa!" he let him go, grinning widely at him.

"Why don't you go outside and play with your friends, Bae? I have some things to work on here, and the maid needs to finish doing the dishes. His son nodded and ran off outside.

"I thought you said my help wasn't wanted?" the girl asked as she did the dishes, her back turned against him. He gazed up and down her body, quite enjoying the view.

Lost in the thought of how his new maid looked he forgot entirely what she asked. "Pardon?"

"The first time we met-" she started, turning against him while drying one of the plates. "I volunteered to help your son learn, but you said you didn't want nor needed my help" she wiped off a bit of hair that was in the way of her face with the back of her hand. "What made you suddenly change your mind?"

"Ah...well, now when you will spend eternity with us we might as well use all of your service. Besides, Bae should get whatever he wants".

He had thought about it, he didn't have the time nor knowledge to teach him how to read, as pathetic as it was. Reading had never been any of his strong sides, he could barley spell his own name, but then again no one seemed to be able to.  
The woman in front of him on the other hand, she had more than enough knowledge in that matter. If she could teach him how to read then soon enough he'd be the smartest of men in the kingdom. So he had decided that he might as well let them have their reading lessons while he worked or sat by the wheel.

The girl nodded and went back to finishing the dishes. "Thank you by the way...for putting that bear fur on me".

"No matter, couldn't have the maid being sick at the first day of work, could she? You might make my boy sick in that case, and then I'd have to kill you" he joked, well for the most part. "Well I have calls to make, look after Bae while I'm gone, and I expect lunch to be on the table once I get back" he said as he vanished into thin air.

* * *

She smiled as she cleaned the chipped cup her employer had used, carefully touching the chipped part.  
Maybe this wouldn't be as dark of a nightmare as she had thought it would be?

* * *

**A/N: **Oh god, I'm sorry I haven't updated for so long, my excuse is that my baby brother's birthday was this week, and we went horse riding and to this amusement park and since this was the last week before I unfortunately have to go back to reality and start school again I tried to just chill, but oh well, here's the new chapter, hope you guys enjoy it. /Jonna


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